<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Home At Last by Ultra</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23374705">Home At Last</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra'>Ultra</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soldiers of Misfortune [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Leverage, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Friendship/Love, Gen, Happy Ending, Home, Love, M/M, Multi, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Soldiers, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Understanding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:35:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,437</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23374705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In time, every soldier does his part and earns a happy ending with those they love most, such is the case with both Steve Rogers and Eliot Spencer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers &amp; Eliot Spencer (Leverage)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soldiers of Misfortune [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/528334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Home At Last</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/theron09/gifts">theron09</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For theron09, on the occasion of her birthday. One last piece to finish off this series that has been years in the making. I hope you enjoy :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m starting to believe you might be as good in the kitchen as you always told me you were.”</p>
<p>Steve was smiling as he walked up to the counter and peered over at what Eliot had in the pans on the stove. He took a deep breath, appreciating all the delicious aromas. It reminded him of his childhood, more than a little.</p>
<p>“This ain’t as adventurous as I sometimes get.” Eliot shrugged. “I figured good ol’ boys like you and Barnes probably appreciate the old-fashioned stuff.”</p>
<p>“Sometimes,” Steve agreed, pulling himself onto a stool and continuing to watch Eliot work. “You don’t mind...”</p>
<p>“Knock yourself out,” his friend said easily. “Those two are driving you crazy, aren’t they?” Eliot grinned, gesturing with his knife towards the next room, before chopping herbs on the board before him.</p>
<p>“Two?” Steve echoed. “Try three. Bucky might be quieter now than he used to be, but the sense of humour is still in there. I think Parker brings it out of him the most.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, she’s good with that, just poking at a person until they crack, said Eliot knowingly. “But look out, because sometimes the poking is actual.”</p>
<p>Steve chuckled at that, but he didn’t doubt it was true. Maybe it was Spencer he knew best of the Leverage crew, but he was familiar enough with Hardison and Parker to be well aware of their quirks too. One thing he knew for sure was how truly happy Eliot was to have those two back again. It was equal to his own joy and relief at having Bucky at his side after too long apart.</p>
<p>“It’s weird, isn’t it?” said Eliot then, pulling Steve from too much deep thought. “How even the annoying habits suddenly seem like the best things about ‘em, just because they haven’t been around in so long.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.” Steve nodded his head a soft smile playing at his lips. “I know it could’ve been so much worse, but all those months of not knowing...”</p>
<p>Eliot knew it wouldn’t do any good to try and tell his buddy he understood or that everything was going to be okay. That wasn’t how their comradeship had ever worked. It was more unspoken than anything else, because they already knew all that could be said without either of them having to verbalise.</p>
<p>It was tough on people like them, walking the world without those they loved most at their side for a while, but it was also rough for those that were vanished in the snap and now back again. They had lost time in a void that nobody but them could really understand. It was another reason why Eliot and Steve didn’t mind too much when Parker, Hardison, and Bucky were being dumb or annoying right now. They had the right, after everything.</p>
<p>“So, where do you guys go from here?” asked Eliot, clearing his throat. “I guess you got choices enough, right? Stark would put you up in one of his places, or maybe you got a yen to go space travelling with one of the intergalactic set,” he said with a smirk.</p>
<p>“You know me, Spencer.” Steve smiled back at him. “Much happier with my feet on the ground.” He sighed then. “I don’t know, we talked about New York, but also some other places. California is supposed to be nice, or maybe somewhere a little less crowded.”</p>
<p>“‘I would rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth’,” Eliot quoted with a smile. “You know who Steve McQueen is?” he double-checked, unsure how far Rogers had gotten with catching up on cinema and all.</p>
<p>“<i>The Magnificent Seven</i>, right?” he said, considering.</p>
<p>“Among other things,” his friend confirmed. “I’d recommend <i>The Great Escape</i> but you kinda already lived that one,” he said with a knowing look. “Anyway, I still know people down south. You had a need to get back to nature or whatever, I could make a call.”</p>
<p>“Thank you,” said Steve, nodding once. “I’ll let you know.”</p>
<p>Eliot nodded just the same, then went back to his pots and pans for a while.</p>
<p>Steve watched him working a moment, then turned to look when crazy laughter erupted from the next room. It really was good to hear that, not just because he missed the people when they were gone this time, but that the kind of happiness he could hear in Bucky’s voice as he joked with Parker and Hardison had been gone way too long. Long before the snap, way too long before.</p>
<p>“Okay,” Eliot said then, rubbing his hands together. “Pretty sure we’re ready to serve some food here. You wanna lend a hand, Cap?”</p>
<p>“Sure, what can I do?” said Steve, on his feet and practically standing to attention.</p>
<p>Eliot smirked at that, it was tough not to, though he knew very well he did the same thing sometimes, depending on who was ‘giving the orders.’ Old soldiering habits died hard. Somehow, even if they gave up entirely on fighting the good fight, in whatever form it took, those kinds of things would always remain with guys like them. It was oddly comforting somehow.</p>
<p>“Pretty sure that’s everything,” said Eliot as they both loaded up with dishes to carry through to the table. “Rogers?”</p>
<p>“Right behind you,” Steve confirmed. “I just... I wanted to thank you, Spencer. You know, when I got back into the world, it was tough to find anyone that... that understood.”</p>
<p>“Well, I may not have been frozen in ice seventy-something years, or know what it is to be a super-soldier,” said Eliot, shrugging his shoulders, “but who the hell does these days?”</p>
<p>Steve smiled at the way he said it. “I was being sincere.”</p>
<p>“And I appreciate that, but it’s not like you haven’t had my back too,” his friend reminded him. “When they were... When the worst happened, I came to you lookin’ for an answer, a way back. Couldn’ta done what we did by myself. If I did anythin’ to help you out, Steve, you more’n paid that back when the time came around to finish things, to bring back what we all lost.”</p>
<p>A look passed between them, blue eyes meeting blue eyes. Maybe they had both saved each other in their own ways. Maybe they were just the brother each one of them always needed without hardly knowing. Maybe they were just soldiers who had seen too much, been through too much, but could deal with it if only they knew the other was still standing strong beside them.</p>
<p>“Now, I’m not sayin’ these things are heavy but some of us weren’t shot up with super-serum, so let’s go put the dishes down,” said Eliot with a grin.</p>
<p>“Right behind you,” Steve repeated, meaning it this time as he followed his friend through to the next room.</p>
<p>Parker started literally bouncing in her seat the moment she saw the good selection of food, while Hardison was apparently still distracted by Bucky’s high-tech arm.</p>
<p>“Man, seriously,” he said, fingers running reverently over the intricate metal. “This Wakandan tech is crazy.”</p>
<p>“I’ll tell Shuri you said so.” Bucky smirked. “You know I could introduce you sometime. She never gets tired of people telling her she’s amazing,” he said, rolling his eyes.</p>
<p>“Sh-shuri?” Hardison stammered. “You would introduce me to Shuri? <i>The</i> Shuri?”</p>
<p>“Stop fangirling and eat already,” Eliot grumbled.</p>
<p>Parker rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re so excited about that arm. The other one is much sexier,” she said matter-of-factly, piling potatoes onto her plate.</p>
<p>Steve very nearly spat his mouthful of beer all over the table, but Eliot only laughed.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I saw that one coming,” the hitter said, chuckling as he tossed a napkin for his friend to wipe his face.</p>
<p>As Hardison waxed lyrical on all the things he would love to talk to Shuri about and Parker made a fort with her mashed potatoes, complete with gravy moat, Eliot got into conversation with Bucky, and Steve just sat back and watched them all for a moment.</p>
<p>Having the Avengers as his team was no bad thing and they all meant a great deal to him. Still, this right here, this was something even more special. Eliot, Parker, and Hardison were like family, brothers and a sister that he never had before, and Bucky, he was just everything else.</p>
<p>“You okay, Steve?” he asked from across the table, fork poised halfway to his mouth.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m just fine,” he promised Bucky with a smile. “In fact, I’ve never been better.”</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>